Author: Alex Markova

The spring break reading was a nice change this semester since I got to read a fictional piece. It was also very interesting to look into artworks that were inspired by Invisible Cities and see how illustrators visualized these mysterious locations described by Italo Calvino. The city that stood out to me was Octavia, a spiderweb city (Chapter 5 ). It is described as a city that is “hanging” over the void between two mountains. It is composed of chains and ropes that connect buildings with catwalks. The city is “suspended over the abyss” as deep as more than hundreds of feet. Hanging ropes and passages that compose a spider web instantly reminded be me of those rope parks where you climb around a hanging maze or circuit balancing on ropes above the ground. The description of the city itself also brought up a somewhat familiar image in my head but I am still unable to remember what kind of book/movie it reminds me of. The chapter provides a very brief description of Octavia, but I was still fascinated by the idea of a hanging spiderweb city between mountains. The artworks visualizing this place were also so captivating and visually interesting. However, what stands out to me the most is the themes of temporality and mortality this city brings to the story. Marco Polo says, “the life of Octavia’s inhabitants is less uncertain than in other cities” (p. 75), which at first seems almost paradoxical. How can your life be certain if it is quite literally hanging on a thin thread (or web, in this case)? Yet the author explains, “They know the net will last only so long”, and, suddenly, it all makes sense. It is a very existential philosophical thought. We are all aware of our own mortality, which is probably the only certain thing about our uncertain lives. The acceptance of their own temporality mystifies the inhabitants of Octavia. It also translates the storyteller’s impression of the city and in relation to time. Since Marco Polo does not give a lot of attention to describing this city, there is little that we know about the daily life there, and it makes it seems like Octavia exists in a time-capsule without a clear “now” or “then”. If this city was a virtual environment, it probably would not have a linear storyline but it would rather exist in one isolated moment where the user would get to explore the environment and make observations about its transience without actually witnessing the city’s inevitable doom.

As I was reading this chapter, I kept drawing parallels with the discussions and questions I have had when taking an NYU Gallatin class called The Garden of Forking Paths last year. The class takes its name from Jorge Luis Borges’ short story that is referenced a few times in “Hamlet on the Holodeck” as well. Throughout the course, we have analyzed hypertext literature, non-linear narratives and gameplay which are central reference points in this reading as well. As I am not a gamer myself, I keep referencing the examples we have looked into in that class to apply the theory from Janet Murray’s work while also evaluating the discussion I’ve had in the past in other contexts about user agency and what interactivity really is.

For the sake of applying this reading to an example, I have chosen to revisit I a game called “Life Is Strange 2” I have played for the class I have mentioned before. Long story short, the game follows a story of two brothers (you play as the older teenage boy) who, after witnessing their father being killed by a police officer, set off to flee their hometown and escape the police investigation of the sudden explosion of their house in which they are the prime suspects. You become a juvenile fugitive who is now responsible of taking care of the younger brother with (spoiler alert!) supernatural abilities.

The story unfolds through exploring different environments, collecting objects (which enrich the background story and give a more detailed portrait of the characters) and it progresses through branching dialogues. The decisions you make in the latter determine the conclusion of the game and the relationship that you develop with the younger brother and how his personality is affected by the events that happen. Overall, it sounds like a game that provides so many opportunities for exercising user agency in order to unravel and impact the story on your own. However, from my experience, I was not satisfied because often the game provided only the illusion of choice. Some decisions that you make along the way do not make a significant impact and the gameplay is interrupted at certain points with linear cinematic breaks in which you only spectate the events. Although I understand that it is a method of making sure that the narrative progresses and does not get stuck, it felt like my user agency is being taking away or is not significant. Yet I was pleased with the ability to explore the environment and objects in it that had a clear connection to the story and thus could enrich it with more detail. At the same time, choosing not to interact with certain items did not make the experience less comprehensive or fulfilled.

My key takeaways from the chapter on agency, which I have also used to write my brief analysis of “Life Is Strange 2” above:

• Agency is often confused with the misused term of interactivity which relates to “the mere ability to move a joystick or click on mouse”
• Agency is about meaningful interactions that are pleasurable and help shape the overall narrative
• Navigating the digital space should be allowed to be flexible and pleasurable while user choices should be meaningful, engaging but not limited to the win/lose consequences
• Every object in the environment should have a direct connection to the narrative and enable a clear sense of user agency
• “The interaction is not the author of the digital narrative”, exercising power within the interactive experience “is not authorship but agency”.